Jul 12, 2011

This is one the easiest pasta dishes I make for my family, I make it at least twice a month when I need a quick meal and they all devour it. With just a few ingredients and only one pot, this recipe will put dinner on the table in 15 minutes.

I'm really not sure why I haven't posted this sooner, this is the recipe my daughter wants to learn how to make when she is away at college. In fact, as I was photographing this today, she was standing right next to me with a plate and bowl in hand.

A few quick tips for making this perfect every time. Don't overcook the pasta, there is nothing worse than mushy pasta. Reserve some of the pasta water before draining, you'll add some of it back in after without having to add too much oil. And most importantly, use good cheese! I like Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano, don't buy the cheap stuff, it just isn't the same. If you like a little spice, add some crushed red pepper flakes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When water boils, add pasta and broccoli at the same time and cook according to pasta instructions for al dente. When pasta is almost done cooking, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and broccoli.

Return the pot to the stove and set heat to high; add 1 tbsp olive oil, when hot, add garlic. Cook until golden, reduce flame to low and add pasta back to the pot.

Mix well, add remaining olive oil, grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste mixing well and smashing any large pieces of broccoli to break up.

Add 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and mix well adding more if needed.

I just bought some capricious cheese at the farmers market today.... I have no idea what you typically do with that type of cheese but it was super tasty, I had to buy some. So I'm thinking it will pair well in this dish! Thanks for another great, inspiring recipe!

Pasta takes from 11-15 minutes to cook, while fresh broccoli should be boiled no longer than 2-3 minutes, tops, especially if it is to be put back into the pot and cooked even longer. Best bet is to blanch it first and set it aside so you don't overcook it and turn it to a lifeless, flavorless mush.

I make this same dish except I use about 4-5 cloves of garlic and lightly cook the garlic in the oil prior to adding the broccoli and pasta. So yummy. Definitely add the red pepper flakes too or plenty of crushed black pepper. Deb

Oh my goodness! This is also my broccoli pasta recipe! It's the best!!!! And what freaked me out completely is that I only use Pecorino Romano! A girl after my own heart. And it's great for WW points. Thanks for sharing it, so glad that you didn't go OTT with too many ingredients - the good stuff speaks for itself. Great job :)

Gloria- I make pasta a broccoli a few ways, one where I roast the broccoli to keep it crisp. This recipe I intentionally cook it with the water so the pieces break up when I mix it with the pasta. The little pieces of broccoli coat the pasta so picky eaters can't pick the broccoli out. Try it this way at least once and see what you think. It makes like a broccoli sauce I guess you can say.

AJ, I bet they would like this, this dish was designed for broccoli haters! Mash the broccoli even more for those who detest it. :) Impossible to pick out.

I like the little shapes so I can give them to my one year old. She devours this.

OMG I make something similar but with a TON more ingredients, this sounds great! This is my first post but I have made almost a dozen of your recipes since discovering your blog a month ago...you even inspired me to make my own blog!

I made something very similar to this last night... only I used a ton of zucchini that I cubed up instead of the broccoli, and added some cottage cheese for a little extra oomph. My husband loved it! Thanks for all the great tips and recipes, Gina!

I have cooked this same recipe before, one of my tricks is to drop a cube of chicken bouillon in the boiling water before adding the pasta. It gives the noodles and broccoli great flavor. I also like to add grilled chicken to make it more substantial

Thanks for this recipe! I made this tonight for my family and some guests and it was a HUGE success! My husband and guest asked if a third helping was o.k.! I added some chicken to it just because my husband loves his protein. This will become a new staple in my cooking repertoire! Thanks again!

Gina,I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful recipes and adding all of the nutritional information. Your photos are perfect and I always look forward to your next post. As a young twenty something who was recently diagnosed with a kidney disease, keeping an eye on sodium is really important for me. I really cannot thank you enough for this amazing resource. If you charged for these - I would pay you! A million thanks, keep up the excellent work :)-Melissa

I just could not imagine how these few simple ingredients got such rave reviews so I had to try it as I was sure I had everything. HAH...no reggiano OR romano so off to the store during rush hour no less. I can happily say it beat all expectations! I think breaking up the broccoli and adding some pasta water helps make it seem saucy or? Whatever...I can't get enough of it.I added another garlic clove and 2 tablespoons minced onions then could not resist throwing in a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes.HEAVEN!

My husband is allergic to garlic... :-( Would this still be worth making without it - or could you suggest adding something in place of the garlic? I am pregnant and definitely craving this right now!Thanks for all of your awesome recipes!

I have a food sensitivity to garlic (and anything in the onion family.) I get really bad headaches for about two days after I eat anything that has a lot of it in there. I love the taste of onions, garlic, etc., but it took me about 30 years of headaches to figure out that's what was causing them. I feel your pain, it's almost impossible to cook without them

My 2 year old ate at least 2 bowls of this before he was done! It was fantastic. Pasta and broccoli is my favorite combination of all time. I added some sun-dried tomatoes to mine and it was perfect! Thank you so much Gina!

I had a little plain past leftover from dinner when I read this recipe - so I almost followed the recipe but I had about 1/4 pasta to 3/4 broccoli and it came out kind of like a light broccoli pesto if there is such a thing. It was delicious. Thanks again, Gina!! Alison in Boston.

I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful and easy recipe. I had to make a few changes because, I honestly didn't feel like going to the store tonight. I used frozen broccoli, and (gasp!)the grated Parmesan in the can! ;) I also added 2 cups of fresh zucchini from our garden. I forgot to reserve the pasta water, so I improvised and used some FF chicken broth instead. I could eat the whole recipe, it was so good! I will definitely make this again and with the proper ingredients, but in a pinch, I made due and it still turned out so good I can only imagine how it would be with fresh grated Parmesan or Romano. Thank you for a very tasty and easy recipe for a tired mom.

I tried this last night (and am currently eating the leftovers for lunch)!! It was a little bland to me (I love a ton of flavor) so I made a creamy sauce - in a pan I combined butter, olive oil, and more garlic, added more parmesean, a little balsamic, and fat free milk - it made it amazing!

I made this for dinner the other night and my boyfried absolutely FLIPPED. He hadn't eaten broccoli in years, didn't like the taste, but ate up the whole pot of pasta, it was so delicious. Not only this, I've followed some of your other recipes and the reaction has always been nothing short of amazing! Thank you so much!

This is one of my favorites too. I usually make it with whole wheat pasta and add chucks of sauteed chicken breast to boost the protein. I add the broccoli when the pasta is half done to keep it from getting too mushy.

Made this tonight and it was a hit! There isn't much left so I will have to double this recipe next time. Even my 3 1/2 year old son who HATES broccoli ate it and loved it! So I will definitely be making this again soon. The best part as a mother of two under 5 is that this is easy! My infant loved it too! Thanks again GINA! I served this with a side salad.

I made this for my sisters who were visiting from out of state last week. They loved it! I was planning to save it for lunch the next day, but I didn't get a chance too- It was all gone! Great recipe, Gina. :)

I also have a favourite recipe of that kind, with shrimps and cashew nuts... When I am not too lazy or when I got enough time, I cook home-made pastas http://www.dansmacuizine.com/2011/03/tagliatelles-maison-aux-crevettes-et-au-brocoli/Please forgive my english level, I certainly do not practice often enough, I hope english-speaking food blogs will help me a little. I really enjoyed what I discovered on this one, thanks a lot !

I made this this weekend while we had company over (in addition to grilling). I used Pecorino Romano cheese. What surprised me is how the kids loved this recipe! It was the kids diving in for more.. and there is a VEGGIE in this recipe! Wow! So my feedback was positive. People all comented on it. I really did not think using the water was going to be good, but it just helps make it moist. It was more bland then your creamy fattening recipes, so do not think creamy. This was a good but healthy dish! :)

This was an excellent Sunday evening meal. I was able to use ingredients I had on hand (I go to the market on Mondays) and instead of having a sandwich or bowl of soup we had a wonderful summertime pasta dish, light, moist and flavorful. I added red pepper because my husband likes some spice and we use whole wheat pasta but other than that followed the recipe. I will definitely make this often..THANKS!

I have made this a couple of times as posted and it's been a hit. I use a whole grain piccolini and I think I will try the splash of lemon juice as someone else suggested! I very recently cooked this for dinner for a friend while we vacationed and he loved it, but I changed it a bit. I also sauteed sliced cherry tomatoes then put the hot pasta on a big bed of fresh baby spinach. The heat from the pasta wilted the spinach. The cherry tomatoes went on top. Perfect follow up to our oysters rockefeller and candlelight out by the lake.

I just discovered your website yesterday and tried this recipe last night (using orzo)...it was DELISH! I am not on WW but have been looking for ideas for yummy "healthy" food to make and try to trick my greasey-cheesey-loving boyfriend into liking....and so far he has loved it!! Thank you so much for sharing your outstanding recipes, I am looking forward to trying many more of them (I have your "roasted chick peas" in the oven right now!!!)

Gina, I have 5 of your recipes on my list to try this week alone. I've always enjoyed your recipes! Tonight I made this and it was wonderful! I had to resist having a second helping! I halved the amount of pasta because there is only 2 of us. The only other thing I did differently was brown up some chicken (9 oz, 1 boneless, skinless breast) in the EVOO w/ the garlic before I added the broccoli and pasta back to the pan. I plugged everything into Recipe Builder. My version made 4 servings, still 8 PP per serving with the chicken, score! Thanks for all you do!

Made this (again) tonight - after a long day with patients and then teaching two classes - I was hungry and tired but this was super simple - I used frozen broccoli florets - added them about half way through the cooking time - they worked out perfectly. Kids ate is as is and I added lots of red pepper flakes ;) yum!!! Thanks!

how is it that no one found the broccoli to be mushy and inedible? i followed your steps exactly and it's way too much time to boil broccoli like this. i saw it getting soft within a minute or 2 steeping in the boiling water, so i started scooping it out. too mushy. i think i found something worse than mushy pasta ;)

If you use a pasta that takes longer to cook or if you want a firm broccoli you can add it the last 2 minutes of cooking time. But what we like is that it almost creates a sauce, and for little ones it's perfect (they can't pick out out).

My friends taught me a similar recipe. They make their's with fresh spinach. The combo of the spinach and broccoli is so good. This is a favorite of ours and so easy to. Thanks for all your great recipes!

I made this last night and it was great! I was worried my boyfriend wouldn't like it because of the veggies, but he loved it too! Thanks so much Gina for all your recipes...I have really enjoyed everything I have made from this site.

Thank you so very much for this recipe! I made this tonight for my family. My three kiddos (all under age 5) all ate it and asked for seconds... even my two year old who only eats applesauce, cheerios, and chicken nuggets ate it! I will definitely make this regularly!

I'm so glad I was shown your blog by a dear friend. I added lots of your recipes to my ziplist and went shopping. I made this Pasta tonight (as the first recipe I'm trying) and it was a HUGE hit with the family. It's amazing how so little ingredients combined can be VERY tasteful.

This was amazing. I actually forgot to add the broccoli until the last 2 minutes, but I like the broccoli to have a firmer texture so this was perfect. I could see how making a "sauce" with the broccoli would be perfect for my picky 8 year old who chewed the tops off her veggies and left a mess in the bowl. Either way, I loved it, I love your site, I love the recipes! Thanks so much.

I made this last night! Gorgeous! I used gorgonzola instead of parmesan and cooked onions as well as garlic in the oil. Would you believe it's actually 10 times nicer again cold for my lunch today! Fantastic!

It's so funny to see this recipe as it has been a staple in my Italian family for years! My grandmother showed my mom how to make it when she married my dad. We call it broccoli & ziti and is usually the go to side dish for most things grilled or baked chicken cutlets. I'm glad to see it is not just our family that loves this tasty treasure!!!

This recipe is ok and pretty bland/mushy. The broccoli loses so much nutrition from boiling, too. I should have added some spices, herbs and red pepper flakes. Probably would not make again, since I prefer a traditional pesto sauce.

I LOVE THIS!!! its a little higher in points than i would like but i cant complain!!! the taste makes up for it! PLUS, you get a cup and a half! I wonder if using wheat pasta would make the points go down?? but either way VERY GOOD! thanks gina!!

This may be a dumb question - but by "1-1/2 cups" does it mean to make the entire meal, and scoop it out and measure the final product? And that goes for all meals. I'm sure it does, I just want to be positive. Thank you

I made this tonight, and added the pasta and the broccoli together as suggested. WELL, I didn't realize that since I had a long-cooking pasta (11 minutes), the broccoli got really really well done. It turned into a broccoli paste! It looks like a pesto sauce, almost. I grated the garlic with a rasp and cooked it with a couple shakes of red pepper. The flavor was good, so I'll try again. But next time I'll cook the broccoli less!

What kind of pasta did you use in this?!?!? I used Ronzoni Smart Taste and 1 1/2 cups weighs in at a whopping 28 points on Weight Watchers... how the heck did you get only 8 points out of this?!? I am really curious to know!

Looks simple and tasty! I would advise adding the broccoli in the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking to preserve the vitamins in it and keep some texture. I like my veggies al dente too:-)Whole wheat pasta for us too. Thanks for the recipe!

I do something similar...I use chicken broth (10 calories for my brand) instead of water to boil/steam the noodles/broccoli and cut out the oil completely...definately add a little red pepper for kick...quick and delicious....it's also good with shredded chicken mixed in. My husband says the left overs are better than the first serving.

Thanks so much for this recipe! I like to make it early in the week and then take it to work for lunch in subsequent days. I add extra garlic, and since I use Smart Taste High Fiber Rotini, it's 7 points! The last time I made this, though, I added 3 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts (just used the toaster and watched them carefully), which put it at 8 points per serving. What a perfect, easy, meal!

What type of pasta was used for this? I can't figure out how the whole thing only weighed in at 289 calories for 1.5 cups. I used Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow pasta, and a 1/2 cup alone of that is 180 calories right there.

This looks so delicious! I love having a bowl of pasta and garlic when I'm in a hurry, and adding broccoli sounds AMAZING.I just discovered your blog today, and I'm drooling over every single post! I can't wait until I have more time to cook; I'm definitely trying tons of your recipes!

My family is Italian and we have been eating this ever since I can remember. Sometimes we modify it by using cheese tortellini instead of regular macaronis. (of course that ruins the healthy part, but it is so good)

I've made this a couple of times, my husband and I love it! It's the perfect recipe for wednesday nights between work and church. I added some chopped up deli ham because we always have it in the fridge for lunches and it tastes great!

I make a higher-calorie version of this and was happy your version is just as good. My husband was pleased. We tossed in some grilled chicken. Thanks for helping me stay on program without sacrifing the flavor!

I loathe broccoli and this dish was just fantastic. And really reasonable in points. So many ways to customize it -- i added some extra garlic, shallots and red pepper flakes. I've been hitting the wall with the diet thing (6 weeks into it and I have a long, long way to go) and dishes like this keep me going. Thanks so much for your great ideas!

I made this tonight and it was wonderful! I boiled the broccoli and added some cauliflower right with the pasta and it did not come out mushy at all. My husband (who I thought was going to scoff at it) raved about it. Both my picky girls ate it without complaint. This is so much more healthy than those bag noodle side dishes -- it is definitely going to be in the regular rotation now! Thanks Gina!!!

So delicious! I made this tonight with orzo and also added a pound of shrimp when sauteeing the garlic. My son's friend lingered to be asked to dinner when he smelled the shrimp and garlic cooking, and then gobbled it all up even though he claims never to have eaten broccoli before.

Made this a few weeks ago, and was a bit disappointed that the broccoli was obliterated when I went to stir everything up. Didn't realize that was the point until I read the comments. It was still very, very tasty, and next time I will just add the broccoli a few minuets later to keep them whole.

I did half fresh broccoli and half frozen, cuz that's all i had. I let the frozen broccoli thaw a bit and then added it after the pasta was done cooking. Otherwise the frozen would get too mushy if boiled. It warms up as you mix it in the pasta.

Needed an easy pasta recipe because it is what my 4 year old requested. I didnt have any spaghetti sauce like she wanted so i turned to google and found your blog! Made the recipe just like you said except i used farfalle pasta, added the broccoli at the last 4 minutes and topped with chopped tomatoes! My 4 year old loved it despite the fact she wanted green beans! I added the crushed red pepper to my bowl and its a must have for spicy fans! thanks so much for this quick & wasy recipe i never would have thought to add the broccoli to the pasta water!

I personally think whole wheat pasta tastes like glue so I thought I would share; if you are looking for pasta with fiber and nutrients try kamut - it tastes better than regular white pasta, or spelt which has a bit more substance and a slight nuttiness. both do contain gluten but are generally better tolerated than regular wheat products

I love that your easy recipes are legitimately easy, and also so full of flavor! My previous idea of pasta and broccoli was just putting whole wheat pasta on steamed broccoli, spraying it with butter spray, and calling it a night. This was just as easy, but so much tastier! It must be so awesome to live in your house when even your quick dinners like this are so bursting with flavor!

this is one of the Italian poor mans meals , it can be done with almost any vegetable or beans , a favorite of mine was called pasta and cheeche , but the pasta is cooked separately and added last with a fair amount of the water to make a soup also while the pasta is boiling , in a separate pan you fry garlic in olive oil then saute what you want in a vegetable right with the garlic and pour it into the pot with the pasta, a little fresh basil and Romano and you are done

Thank you for this recipe. I have gone through the comments and most are saying that this tastes really good so I certainly will be trying this out for the weekend. For the broccoli not to be mushy, I think you can put it in after a few minutes of boiling or can cook it separately. I am sure that other readers as well as restaurant Fort Lauderdale owners will also appreciate this. Anyhow, I am actually excited to try this out.

Delicious. I also added a little chopped onion while sauteing the garlic and I sprinkled lemon pepper on mine at the end, which added a lot of flavor. I also used white fiber pasta. My 3 year old loves it too. Thank you Gina!

Was really great tasting, almost as good as my old Italian MIL used to make me. ;-) I added the italian red peppers 'pepperoncino'. I didn't find the fresh broccoli overcooked or got mushy, I kept the stems rather large as I knew they would somewhat break apart. Undercooked the pasta somewhat as it continues cooking after draining and during the last stage when everything is being amalgamated together. A keeper this one. :-)

I made this recipe last week - so delicious!! There's an Italian restaurant near my house that make a broccoli pasta which I LOVE. However, it has probably a quarter cup more oil per serve! This was definitely a spot-on healthy alternative.I'm a vegetarian so this is my kind of meal but even my meat-eating, Italian boyfriend loved it! I added a little bit of fresh chilli to the garlic frying stage - delish! This is going on my fortnightly meal rotation for sure!

I'm really picky when it comes to cheese due to not liking the majority of cheeses. Would this recipe work with Alfredo sauce without adding too many calories? If not, is there another cheese similar to Alfredo that you would recommend instead?

I bought some good parmesan cheese at the farmer's market last weekend so I could try this. I only had about 4 cups of broccoli after it was chopped up, and that was enough I found, not too little at least. I was excited to try it due to the simplicity and rave reviews, so I made it tonight for my son (7) and I. I gotta say I feel like the odd one out...it wasn't amazing for me. I liked it, but not as much as I expected from the reviews. My son says he loved it and it was 'very yummy'. Will definitely keep it in our repertoire for a nice quick easy dinner.